A Chip Off the Old Block
by MarionLuth
Summary: An AU remake of season's 1 episode 6. Liam idisregards Harris' orders during the crystal-extraction operation and Darius is not impressed. Darius/Liam Mentor-parentish/protege-sonish dynamic. SPANKING of a young adult! If this is not your thing, DON'T READ! Better summary inside. Complete. Open to requests for future one-shots!
1. Chapter 1

**Introduction**

Hello all! I started watching Salvation only recently and fell in love with it! I feel the dynamic between Darius and Liam is very close to parental and it stirred the spanko within me. This short story is a tag or rather a remake of first season's episode six. I couldn't get out of my head an alternative plot where Liam would be held accountable for disregarding Harris during the operation of the crystal's extraction.

I've played around a bit changing some things like Liam's age. I've made him a 19 year old gifted graduate student. I know we don't hear it too often, but I personally have read numerous stories of teens starting college when most of us are still struggling with high school and considering what Liam has managed to create as a master student, making him a 19 year old prodigy didn't feel too much. Plus the younger age helps my plot line and the eventual mentor-parent/protege-son dynamic between Darius and Liam.

Even though the general lines of the episode are kept I've added scenes and altered bits and pieces to lead to the final confrontation of Darius and Liam. Also even though most of the writing is my own, I've kept parts of dialogues that I absolutely loved in this episode as they were. Those parts are written by the Salvation screenwriters and I don't owe them in any way. Nor do I owe any of the characters of the show. I am simply borrowing them to play.

I hope some of you will enjoy this! I know it's not a very popular series but I find it really good and highly recommend it!

You probably won't understand much if you haven't watched season one up to that episode, so you might consider watching the show, or simply watching this episode again if you have forgotten it, before reading this or it might seem a bit incoherent!

For any new readers, English is not my first language and this is not beated (for now). I'm not sure if my beta will agree on taking on this story as well and I didn't have the time to ask for now but I will do in the near future.

The story is complete and I'd love to hear your thoughts over it and possible requests for future one shots!


	2. Chapter 2

Liam's sleeping figure was far from serene. He was jolting about before he all but jumped with a sharp intake of breath. As he realized he was in his own bed next to Jillian he focused his efforts to slow down his elevated heartbeat and his panting breath.

"Liam? You ok? Bad dream?" He heard his girlfriend's soothing voice asking, as she slowly stirred in their bed, regarding him through her still sleepy eyes.

Nodding silently the young man brought a hand to cover his eyes trying hard to regain his composure. He couldn't risk Jillian finding out about anything that had occurred the previous day. How could he explain it to her anyway?

"What time did you come back last night?", Jillian asked again.

"Not sure.. Late." Liam answered a bit curtly.

Jillian watched him intently for a moment, before scooting closer to him. "You've been working far too much, Liam. You need to slow down and take care of yourself." With these words she brought her hands around him from behind and enclosed him in a tight hug.

Liam yelped loudly at the sharp pain on his ribs.

Retracting her hands hastily, Jillian looked down to see what caused his intense reaction. And then she noticed it. A nasty looking bruise on the left side of his naked torso. Her eyes enlarging she looked at him worriedly, "God, Liam! What happened to you?"

Liam had to try hard to keep his temper in check now. Jumping to his feet he tried to sound reassuring. "It's nothing! I... I was in a rush and... I run into something," he said dismissively as he made quick moves of wearing his jeans.

"You seriously expect me to believe that? Unless that something was a car!" Jillian remarked smiling uncomfortably. Why on earth was Liam hiding things from her all of a sudden? When she was met with silence she continued, "Liam, what is going on? You know you can talk to me…"

"I already told you!" Liam snapped as he faught his way into a fresh t-shirt. "It's no big deal, now please cut the third degree, alright?"

Jillian looked at him dejectedly before uttering a flat-toned "Fine".

Looking at her worried face and feeling a strong pung of guilt at the way he spoke to her, Liam went close to her and landed a soft peck on her lips. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired. I got a meeting now, but we'll talk later, I promise," he said placatingly, but didn't wait for an answer.

Jillian remained watching him jogging to the door and vanishing behind it.

* * *

Darius paced next to Liam as the two of them proceeded towards the debriefing room. A simple glance to the young man's face informed Darius that he hadn't slept nearly enough last night. Not that it surprised him.

"Are you ok, Liam?" The older man asked, his tone and eyes sincerely concerned.

Liam let out a sarcastic snort before answering "Yeah, peachy!"

Darius could read his frustration from a mile away and wanted nothing more than to offer him a chance to talk things through, but right now they had a Pentagon debriefing and he needed Liam as focused as possible. Clearing his throat he answered to the young man, "Good. You can't dwell on the past."

The incredulous look he received from Liam made him want to kick himself.

"I didn't know 12 hours ago was the past, but sure! Why not?!" came Liam's sarcastic retort. Shaking his head he walked faster towards the glass door of the meeting room leaving Darius following close behind.

Darius watched the young man walking away with a pensive expression, but chose not to address his tone or irritation. The kid had gone through a hell of a lot over the last weeks and yesterday had been extremely hard on him.

As they took their seats and the head of the debriefing team started asking questions, Darius did not take his eyes from his protege. He read and noted every jerk and jolt and roll of eyes. His tapping feet and his cracking fingers. His irritated tone and sarcastic answers. The kid was a mess. He needed to take his mind off of everything that was going on and in Darius' not so humble opinion someone to talk to. Promising himself he'd find a way to take care of the boy and still manage to save the world, Darius started planning their next moves before they even left the table.

Forty minutes later Liam and Darius walked out of the meeting room with solemn expressions. Liam felt ten times worse than he did when they had entered. A sense of guilt that this was somehow his fault was starting to overwhelm him.

"I fucked it up in there," he mumbled to the general direction of his British mentor.

"Liam, please, you know how I detest foul language," Darius admonished lightly. "And no, You did no such thing. The Pentagon is out to get us from day one and you know it. They just found the opportunity to do so. There is nothing you could have said that would change that."

Deciding not to argue with the man Liam only asked, "What did you mean in there, when you told them that you can make things right?"

Smiling a bit to the young man's observation skills he answered, "Let's just say that I know someone who has some more of our rock." At the Liam's dumbfounded expression he only smiled as he added, "You'll need your passport. Be ready in an hour."

* * *

Liam tapped his fingers impatiently on his knees as he kept his head stubbornly turned towards the jet's window. "You can stare at me like that throughout this flight. It won't change a thing," he informed Darius annoyed.

Darius only inclined his head a bit more and nodded in understanding, never breaking eye contact. They were already flying for over half an hour and he was determined to break through Liam's stubbornness and get him to talk before they landed.

His annoyance ever growing, Liam scoffed, "You don't get to shrink me or whatever, just because you have seven hours to kill! No!"

"Ok, first, I'm not trying to shrink you. I lack the appropriate training for that, although I have taken a couple of classes at one point or another during my college years… I am merely trying to talk to you! I believe you have gone through a very traumatic experience and I can see you're struggling. I only want the best for you Liam."

"Oh, you want the best for me?" Liam answered incredulously his eyes turning sharply to the older man's direction. "Where was this concern last night, huh? Or this morning?"

Darius leaned forward in his seat and rested his arms on his knees as he looked at the young man square in the eye. "Liam, we both know that things are more than crazy these days. Prioritization must happen at all times and at all costs. And believe me, I wanted nothing more than to prioritize _you_ from the very second we got you back from the Russians, but the fate of the planet lays in both our hands. We had to go through the damn meeting and we couldn't have you an emotional wreck for that. I am sorry for this situation, I really am. But now we are here and we have the luxury of time. I don't look for time to kill. I look for a chance to help you."

Liam regarded the older man silently. He leaned back in his seat and brought his palms to rub his eyes tiredly. After a few silent seconds he commented, "I've been a dick haven't I?"

Closing his eyes and managing to swallow down the stern 'language' that came all the way to his tongue, Darius reached out a hand and rubbed the boy's knee, "You've been a rock, kid. But right now I need you to open up a bit."

"It's just…" Liam started and abruptly stopped, remaining silent for a few seconds, eyes darting to the small window next to him. "At first I felt so betrayed... Croft didn't only betray our country, he also betrayed _me_. He took our work, he stole it, he abducted me, and tried to sell everything to the Russians. And then he had a gun pointed at me. Threatened to kill me. So that he'd be the only one with the knowledge of how to build the EM drive. He always said I was like the son he never had, you know? And then he was there, ready to shoot..." After another short pause, Liam bit his lower lip before getting out in a wyiet tone, "But I shot first."

The abrupt violent shaking of the kid's shoulders made Darius all but jump from his seat and move right next to him, hugging him by his shoulders, trying his best to soothe him.

"I can't pretend to understand how you're feeling right now. You had to shoot your mentor, in order to save your own life. I wish I could somehow be there and do it for you, take this away, Liam. But I can't. I can only tell you that I am so very happy that you're the one who got out of that place safe and sound."

Liam shook his head as the sobs kept rocking his body.

"Sshh, now. It's ok. You're safe. I promise you won't have to go through anything like this again. I promise I will protect you from now on, no matter what. I promise, Liam" , Darius said as he rubbed a soothing hand over the kid's back. He couldn't exactly spot when or how, but this young genious had sneaked his way into his heart. He saw him as more than a protege. He saw him as a son or at the very least a younger brother.

Liam slowly calmed down. When Darius felt his breathing going somewhat back to normal, he reached behind him to a small shelf and grabbed a bottle of water, which he promptly handed to him.

After Liam gulped down half of its content he turned his still wet eyes to the older man and asked "Anything stronger than this?"

Darius shook his head smiling, happy to see some of the young man's impishness coming back. "You'll have your chance to enjoy excellent drinks, when we reach our destination. Now go wash up a bit and try to get some sleep. You look exhausted and we still got a good 6 hours ahead of us."

Liam nodded and rose to his feet. After taking a couple of steps towards the small plane's bathroom he turned back to Darius. "About what you said earlier… I didn't have to shoot my mentor. Croft is not -and never really was- my mentor. You are." With these words, he turned his back again and quickly approached the bathroom.

Darius smiled widely as he opened his laptop and began typing away.

* * *

Walking through the imposing gates of the castle, Liam felt his eyes enlarge in awe. Beautifully groomed gardens and sparkling white marble fountains, polished stone paths and a marvelous architectural structure that seemed like it could belong to the very Queen of England, spread everywhere around them.

"Branson?" He asked looking at Darius inquisitively. He had been trying to guess who they'd meet ever since their car started rolling through the magnificent estate's road to bring them to this very castle.

"No."

"Beckham? Connery?"

"No! Stop guessing, we're almost there," Darius said amused as he led them to the all too familiar from his younger years parlor.

"Then tell me who we're here to see and what they've got to do with the crystal…"

Darius looked at Liam plastering a smile on his face and emphatically whispering, "Stop nagging at me and start listening!"

"Darius!" a third voice rang. Liam watched as an old man in his sixties or seventies approached them, smiling widely.

"Nicholas!"

"When they told me you'd come, I was certain they were just trying to pull my leg," the man said excitedly as he proceeded to enclose Darius in a strong hug.

Liam watched Darius remain rather awkward and rigid in the older man's arms as he grunted out "I happened to be in the neighbourhood." When the embrace ended Darius promptly continued, "Liam, this is Nicholas Tanz, Nicholas, this is Liam Cole. My newest protege."

Liam glanced at Darius for a second, a bit annoyed over being called 'newest', as if he was some polished new toy the man owned. Managing not to comment on it, he smiled and shook Nicholas' hand.

Darius continued, "Nicholas is my…"

"Uncle, I know. I've read your biography," Liam interrupted smiling. He savored the sense of satisfaction at interrupting Darius, something Liam knew greatly annoyed the man.

"Where you're from, Liam?" Nicholas asked kindly.

"Rhode Island, Sir, Providence," Liam answered in perfect manners.

"Your family still there?" The older man kept up casually as Darius regarded him with a knowing look.

"Yes. My mother. She is a nurse." Liam continued his tone a little less chippery than before.

"Ah! And your father?" Nicholas pressed on his smile never leaving his face.

"Uh.. He… He was not in the picture." Liam answered again obviously uncomfortable by now.

His smile growing bigger, Nicholas' eyes travelled to his nephew as he commented, "Ah! I see. You took in another stray, didn't you Darius?" Before any of them made it to answer the man chuckled waving his hand as if indicating he was just joking. "Well, Liam, then you and Darius have something in common."

Darius in an effort to lighten the atmosphere and not lose his temper sooner than necessary, continued as if he was never interrupted, "Liam here got a full scholarship at the university. He is a very gifted scientist. He is just 19 and already completing his graduate studies."

Nicholas chuckled saying "A young genius then? Ah! Another thing you've got in common with my nephew!"

Smiling tightly, Darius then mentioned, "Nicholas put me through MIT."

Nicholas regarded his nephew with a gaze of mixed pride and bitterness as he added, "I raised him like a son. And how does he repay me? By building an empire an ocean away!"

Liam's eyes moved between the two men as if watching a tennis match trying to decide what their relationship was really like behind these false pleasantries.

Darius obviously uncomfortable by now, mentioned after clearing his throat, "Anyway, Liam is a specialist in space rocks. I thought you might enjoy showing off your collection to him."

Nicholas' eyes sparkled with almost childish pride and enthusiasm at that, as he approached Liam, "Anything you've seen in Tanz industries will pale by comparison. Get ready for the grande tour!"

As Nicholas walked slowly away with Liam, Darius reached out and grabbed a glass of scotch, from one of the waiters strolling by him and proceeded to gulp it down in one long sip before following the pair.

Liam and Darius remained silent as Nicholas guided them through the castle's converted stables to what could only be described as a rather pompous and incoherent private museum, filled with cars and space rocks. At the center of the largest room, on the largest stand laid the reason for their trip. A large piece of meteorite filled with the invaluable crystal they needed.

As Nicholas' proceeded to describe its history and how he gave Darius a small piece of it when he left to remind him of his home, Darius and Liam looked at each other knowingly.

"You know, Nicholas, I am putting together an exhibit for the Smithsonian and I believe this beauty would make for a great centerpiece. What would you say If I took it as a loan and return it to you right after?" Darius asked casually as he regarded his uncle with hands in his pockets.

The older man's eyes narrowed as a small knowing smirk formed on his wrinkled face. "You know the funny thing about this rock… I've had it for years. Nobody ever showed any particular interest in it. Until last night, when some fellows from Russia offered quite a few millions to buy it from me," he paused long enough to gauge Darius' expression before continuing, "Then the very next day, Darius Tanz after years of absence casually walks in and asks for the same rock. Now, what are the odds?"

Liam watched Darius' eyes narrowing and his arms crossing in front of his chest, as he glared at his uncle straight in the eye. "What if I told you it's important for me?"

Nicholas laughed out loud. "More important than it was for me to be partners with you? I seriously doubt that, Darius."

"Don't act sentimental Nicholas, it doesn't flatter you. It's always been a number with you, so let's have it. How much do you want?" Darius answered impatiently, his voice now elevated.

Liam felt his temper rise. How could Darius be so dumb, angering the man further? Risking their only chance to get the crystal and build a working EM drive?

Nicholas shook his head and chuckled lowly, "The answer is no."

Darius let out a low chuckle as well as he shook his head. "You're just like I remembered you, uncle. A real son of a bitch!"

Liam almost flinched at the words. It wasn't only that Darius never swore, it was that their last chance to get the crystal was evaporating before his very eyes.

Smiling his confident smile, Nicholas only answered, "I'd like to go back to my guests. Thank you for dropping by, Liam, it's been a pleasure!"

"Yeah," Liam answered awkwardly as he shook the man's hand.

"Goodbye Darius."

"Bye-Bye"

When the sound of Nicholas' steps faded away, Liam turned incredulously to Darius, "What the hell was that? You didn't even try to convince him, you just insulted him!" When he was met with silence the young man pressed on, "Darius, I don't give a fuck what kind of daddy or uncle issues you have, but you have to apologize, hell you have to bloody beg!"

Darius shot a stern look at Liam, "What have I told you about swearing?"

"Are you kidding me right now?" Liam asked incredulously throwing his hands in the air.

"Nicholas, would never sell to me, Liam." Darius said in a calm tone. "We didn't come here to convince him to do so. We came here for some high tech spying."

Liam remained still watching Darius reaching in his eye and removing what seemed like a contact lense and putting it in a small box he retrieved from his pocket.

"Darius, what are you planning to do?" Liam asked confused and a bit afraid of the answer.

Darius face was lit by a mischievous confident grin as he pointed a finger to the rock, "I'm gonna steal it!"

* * *

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

After the seven-hour flight back Liam felt exhausted, as he stepped inside his room. As soon as he turned around after closing his door he spotted Jillian sitting on the floor by the bed her eyes red and puffy.

"Jillian?" He asked concerned.

"Liam, I need to know what is going on," she told him in a tired voice and then raised the bloody sweater she was holding for him to see. "The truth, now."

"Jill…"

"No, Liam, if you can't trust me with this, if you can't be honest with me, then I'm leaving!" Jillian said rising to her full height from her spot on the floor. Her voice was trembling but she sounded resolved.

Liam slowly realized that the night would probably end with her leaving either he told her the truth or not. He quickly made up his mind and nodded solemnly. "You might want to sit down for this."

As Jillian slowly lowered herself and sat at the edge of his bed this time Liam added, "For your own safety, you can't tell this to anyone. Absolutely anyone, Jill. This is top-state-secret level of information, which is why I couldn't share it with you in the first place."

At her nod, he took a deep breath and slowly began explaining to her everything about the meteorite and the Tanz industries' involvement.

* * *

A couple of rooms away from where Liam and Jillian were having their conversation, Harris was pacing uncomfortably around the so-called "tree-house" as Darius was working.

"I shouldn't be here and neither should you, Grace," Harris said in a serious tone. "If the Pentagon catches up on this after ending the collaboration with Tanz we're done."

Grace looked at him reassuringly as Darius answered, "I might just have a plan that could change your mind."

The tall man approached Darius and Grace glancing at the computer monitor. "What is this?"

"3-D imaging scans I got from the target. It's Nicholas Tanz's castle. He has the mother rock from which the piece I had in here was chopped off."

Harris looked at Darius suspiciously, "Shall I guess this is why I'm here?"

Smiling Darius answered, "we were hoping you'd consider lending us some men to engage in the operation."

Harris scoffed incredulously, bringing a hand to rub his chin, "You want me to authorize an operation on UK soil to steal a meteorite from your uncle?"

"Well, technically we won't steal it, that thing weighs tones. The crystal must be extracted there," Darius answered in what he thought was a reassuring tone.

Seeing the man contemplating it Grace intervened, "Harris, if we manage to get the crystal we'll be able to build a new EM drive and prevent a war. The US won't have to proceed to send troops to Russia to retrieve the stolen one. This could save millions of lives…"

Muffled yells and noises suddenly sounded making all three of the small company turn their head towards the door.

Clearing his throat Darius said, "I am guessing something's going on with Liam; he's staying a couple of rooms down the hall. Please continue discussing this and I'll be right back!

* * *

When Liam stopped talking he sat beside her silently. He wanted to reach out and hug her but he could tell she needed her space right now as everything tried to sink in.

"Oh God, Liam… How… How could you keep this from me?" she said as tears started flowing freely.

"I was trying to protect you!" Liam tried to explain.

"Protect me?" The girl asked incredulously as she jumped to her feet and run her hands through her hair. "It's my life, Liam, I get to choose how I want to spend my last days!"

Liam got up too and made an effort to touch her shoulders, "Look I get how overwhelming all these are, but we're working really hard to solve this. We're gonna make a new EM drive and we'll save the planet…"

Jillian pushed his hands away. She turned around and reached for her bag and backpack as she whispered, "I got to go…"

"No, wait! Where are you going?"

"Home, Liam. I am going home," she said as she looked at him for what she thought would be the last time before closing the door of his room.

"Jillian! Jillian!" Liam yelled as he ran to follow her.

Jillian kept walking fast towards the staircase as Liam yelled behind her, "Nobody knows this outside the Pentagon if word gets out…"

As Liam's words left his lips, Darius exited his attic and his eyes flew between him and Jillian. He quickly caught up to what must have happened and all but flinched as he watched the girl pausing on the stairs only to throw Liam a death glare and loudly yell at him, "Screw you, Liam!"

Darius' eyes met Liam's and he remained glued to his spot as he watched the young man walk slowly back to his room and closing the door.

Darius felt at a complete loss of what he should do. If at any other point he had found out Liam had shared the secret he'd have serious words with the kid. The secret was not his to tell and the possibility of chaos erupting if it was to get out was too big of a risk. But seeing him like this and with all of the things he had gone through the last couple of days, he didn't find it in his heart to do so. He had half a mind to return to his meeting with Harris and Grace until Liam cooled off a bit but then he heard screams and smashing sounds. Whispering a "Bloody hell!" under his breath he jogged to the kid's room and made quick moves to open the door, enter the room and close it behind him.

For a few seconds, he watched stunned as Liam literally smashed anything he could reach, banged his fists on walls, and screamed his lungs out. Acting solely on instinct, the man took the few steps between them and tried to hold the young man and steady him, hoping he'd calm down if he saw him there.

When Liam only pushed him off and continued with what Darius could only describe as a tantrum, acting again solely on instinct he closed up on Liam, raised his hand, and brought it sharply down three times on the jean-clad behind of the young man.

Just as if the sound button had been clicked off, Liam turned around silently with a shocked expression on his face and looked at the older man in sheer disbelief.

Darius managed to keep a serious face as he gently pushed the young man to sit on his bed. He then proceeded to check his hands. He was relieved when he saw no cuts from the smashing only some tender areas that would soon bruise up from banging everything around him.

"Are you calm now?" The man asked his tone deadly serious.

Liam could only nod.

"I understand you told Jillian and she didn't take it well?"

Again, a simple nod.

Darius sighed. "Liam beside the apparent reasons that have to do with chaos and anarchy that is exactly why I didn't want you to tell her. You can't be in this state…"

"Why, because I won't be able to do your dirty work?" Liam spat back feeling some of his anger boiling up again.

Darius' eyes narrowed now as he sternly reproached, "No, because you are in a state that makes me rather unsure and uncomfortable of leaving you unsupervised as you're evidently hurting yourself through acts of sheer stupidity!"

"This is all your fault! You should have let me tell her from day one! She wouldn't have told anyone and she'd be here right now!" Liam yelled in an aggressive tone, to which the older man was highly unaccustomed.

"Blame me all you want, but this secret has been kept from all of our loved ones, not only yours. Stop acting like a self-absorbed four-year-old and get back to your senses! Do you even realize the gravity of your actions? What will happen if she shares this with someone who will share it with someone else and so on?" Darius answered fighting hard not to yell at the distraught young man.

"I don't fucking care!" Liam all but screamed.

Darius crossed his arms and raised his voice as well, "You should care, Liam, because if she does, and people start dying out there, this will be on us! I am sorry for all the shitty things that have happened to you these last few days but we are in a very critical spot with very little time at our disposal. I need you to get it together!"

At the lack of a response, the man continued, "Fine, have it your way. Sulk all you want in here, while I am trying to find a way to extract the crystal with Grace and Harris. We'll be in the tree-house if you decide you're ready to act civilly and you want to talk."

With these words, the dark-haired man walked briskly out of the room and tried hard to push all that happened to the back of his brain, so that he could focus on forming the plan they needed.

* * *

"Everything alright?" Grace asked as Darius joined them again.

Forcing a reassuring smile the man answered, "Yeah, Liam had a rough couple of days and needed some cooling off. No worries." Then turning to Harris he asked, "Do we have a deal?"

Harris, still struggling to agree, answered "Darius even if I manage to gather special op. men and weapons, I can't sneak them in foreign soil unnoticed."

"I might be able to help with that," Grace said making both men look at her surprised. She smiled before adding "I know a guy."

Harris nodded silently before saying, "Let's get planning."

"Nicholas will be away this whole weekend. He has seven armed and highly trained men guarding the perimeter of the castle. It will be challenging but doable with a special op. team."

As on cue to the last sentence, the room's door slid open and Liam walked in.

Looking at him in what he hoped passed as a warning look, Darius said in a neutral tone, "Liam! Perfect timing! We are discussing the extraction operation. I need you to draw detailed instructions of the extraction process for Harris's team."

"No," Liam simply answered.

"Excuse me?" Harris asked as Darius' brow furrowed ever so lightly.

Liam shook his head before answering, "I'm going to London."

Darius feeling his patience running thin answered in a tight tone, "Okay, Rambo, do you want a team or is this a one-man mission?"

Trying hard to keep his voice even Liam said: "Look, I need to see this through!"

"Well, I need you here with me…" Darius tried in a calm tone.

"Yeah, well it's not your damn decision though, is it?" Liam snapped back angrily.

Darius counted slowly in his head backward from ten trying hard not to jump up and bring Liam to his senses like he had done moments ago in his room.

"I've given up everything to make the EM drive a reality. I have lied for it, I have killed for it, and now I've lost the woman I love because of it!" Liam continued angrilly.

"Look, Liam, I am with Darius here. I can't have any liability in the field. My men are specially trained people," Harris tried to intervene sensing the tension between mentor and protege.

"Oh, yeah? How many years of lab experience do they have then? I am the only person alive that has ever done this process before! What will your men do if the diamond tip of the extractor breaks? Or if the extractor fuses in the rock? I am the only one who can do this!" Liam continued his voice slightly lowered, his tone resolved and his eyes tired.

Harris glanced at Darius, who looked seriously at Liam before slowly nodding. "Fine."

Harris looked at the kid and informed him with a hard voice " But you follow my orders to the letter. I won't have us all killed because you didn't listen or tried to play the hero out there!"

"Of course, yeah," Liam answered immediately a little startled that he had brought them to agree with him so fast.

"Are you completely clear on that note Liam?" Darius asked as he got up and walked to the young man looking at him straight in the eye, "You follow their orders to the letter, or so help me God! Are we clear?"

Swallowing hard Liam couldn't explain what he found so imposing in his mentor's words and stance at that very moment, but he nodded vigorously before stating, "Crystal!"

Harris nodded, "I am going with him. I'm not leaving a kid alone with a team he doesn't know and trust."

"I am not a kid!" Liam interjected glaring at the tall man.

A simple stern utterance of "Liam!" by Darius, was enough to make the exhausted young man roll his eyes and stay silent.

Darius regarded the man with renewed respect. "Thank you, Harris."

Shaking his head, Harris answered, "I have a son too."

Stunned by the man's words both Liam and Darius glanced at each other but neither denied the implied dynamic of their relationship.

* * *

A few hours later, as Liam was about to board on the small jet that would take them to England, he felt a strong hand tugging him in the opposite direction. Turning around he was met with Darius' intense gaze.

"I really need to board, Darius," he said a bit awkwardly.

"This will only take a minute. I just want to stress to you how imperative it is that you follow Harris' orders to the letter."

"I know, Darius. You've all made it very clear," the young man said in an exasperated tone.

"Getting yourself in harm's way won't bring Jillian back," the man added looking at the kid knowingly.

His eyes flaming up with newborn anger, Liam spat at him, "You don't get to talk about her! This is your fault! You brought her into this! You ordered me to keep her in the dark!"

Darius answered in a pensive tone, "I had my reasons."

"I don't care about your reasons!" The young man said in a flat tone, looking at Darius angrily. "I told you, I don't want to have to lie to her, but you didn't give a crap! You're a heartless prick, just like Nicholas."

Darius managed to school his facial expression in order to not show how much Liam's words hurt him.

"We don't have the time to discuss this right now, but I promise we will upon your return. For now, all I want is your promise to follow orders like a good little soldier and not risk your safety to spite me or somehow atone for the Jillian situation."

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head the young man answered annoyed, "Fine, I promise!"

Nodding the man answered, "That is very good to hear, Liam, because honestly, I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you." His expression turning sterner than before he clasped a hand on the kid's shoulder. "I need to be perfectly clear with you, if you defy orders or compromise your safety or the team's safety while on this mission, no matter how pissed you are with me right now, you will answer to me." Letting a couple of emphatic seconds of silence to linger after his words, the man added, "Am I clear, young man?"

Feeling his face flushing at the warning tone, Liam only nodded before attempting to turn away from the man in order to board. Darius' hand still restrained him and when he turned back to see what the man wanted he found himself enveloped in a strong hug. "Be careful, kid."

After watching Harris, his team and Liam board, and the small jet taking off, Grace and Darius made their way to the tree-house. In less than four hours a loud beeping sound broke the quiet atmosphere and both of them sat up in their chairs.

"They've touched down," Darius stated. "Tess, activate surveillance screen!"

* * *

The dark figures, dressed in black special uniforms moved quietly and quickly along the trails around the Tanz Castle.

Liam was right behind Harris and even though throughout the day he made every possible effort to convince everyone he was more than capable to see this through, he couldn't but admit to himself he was more afraid than he had ever been in his life.

When they slammed themselves against a wall for coverage Harris glanced at the young man with concern evident in his features. "Liam? Are you all right?" He asked.

Liam glanced at him uncertainly but still manage to whisper a "Yeah."

Remembering his own first missions and considering the fact that Liam didn't even have training experiences to draw some sense of confidence from, he told to the kid, "Hey, stick to me like glue and I'll get us both home safe. Deal?"

Again with uncertainty, Liam nodded.

Darius voice was then heard over each of the team's earpieces, _"Go twenty meters straight!"_

"Go!" Came Harris whispered order accompanied with the relevant sign and the team moved from their hiding spot to the indicated direction.

Darius again, _"Hold it there! Security will be passing you in ten seconds."_

Liam, even though he tried, could not bring himself to get annoyed overhearing Darius' voice. If he wanted to be honest with himself he drew some comfort from its presence. He glanced at Harris and again stack himself on the closest wall for coverage.

 _"Three guards in front of the south entrance!"_

Harris signaled his men and they proceeded to get out of their spot and shoot the tranquilizing guns to them. When all three figures laid on the ground still Darius was heard once again, _"You've got thirty minutes before their waking up."_

The next seconds passed like a blur for Liam. They moved quickly through the property, entered some kind of tunnel and soon enough Nicholas' weird museum, where the stone laid, appeared in front of them.

As the men spread through the room and the word "Clear" was heard, Liam turned to Harris waiting for his cue.

The man nodded, "Liam, you're up!"

Feeling his hands sweating beneath his gloves, Liam took in two large breaths and proceeded to pull his extractor from his bag. Working as quickly as possible he tuned everything else out and focused solely on the task at hand. He watched as the small container on the extractor filled slowly.

Before it was full Darius' voice echoed through their earpieces, "You've got company! Eight men, heading your way."

Harris immediately signaled every one of his team before turning to a still working Liam. "Liam, pack it up, it's time to go," came the man's order.

Liam shook his head, "I need some more crystal!"

Darius' voice was heard through the earpiece, "Liam! Do as Harris tells you!"

"I need a few more seconds! We need as much as possible in case something goes wrong!"

"Liam, right now," Harris hissed.

Liam ignored the man as he frantically looked around him. A few more seconds ticked by, as fast approaching steps were heard. Finally seeing the container filled to his satisfaction, Liam pulled his tool out, secured it in his bag and whispered to Harris, "Alright!"

Before the man could give any directions, Liam walked briskly towards the exit. He completely ignored Harris' "Wait for us Liam!".

He had a gun for God's sake. He could make sure he'd get out safe or at least move ahead of the others! It was upon that thought that he stepped in the next room and he heard the gunshot. A second later Harris barked "Liam! Take cover!"

The young man lunged forward and hid behind another exhibit as their team barged in and started exchanging fire with the newcomers. Gunshots and yelling pierced his ears and he suddenly felt all his bravado leaving him. He covered his head with his hands and tried to remember how to breathe as panic slowly built up and flooded his senses and thoughts.

Darius' voice began to be heard in the earpiece but it suddenly cut off leaving a static sound behind it. Realizing their contact was probably cut off, Liam felt bile rising in his throat and fought hard not to throw up at that very moment. Looking around him he couldn't help but obey his instinct to run. He rose and dashed through the room towards a smaller one on their right. As he entered he realized it was some sort of utility room filled with shelves and old furniture. He moved quickly and hid behind a large bookcase that served as a storage room for cleaning products.

Gaining some control over his erratic breathing he managed to stay calm. A new surge of panic hit him when he heard cautious steps entering the room. He glanced from his hiding spot and saw a man from the hostile team carefully scanning the room with a big machine-gun ready to shoot. Taking in deep breaths, Liam patiently waited for the man to come closer and when he stood at the other side of the bookcase he shoved it with all of his bodyweight causing it to fall on the assaliant.

Springing to his feet he took a step back and noticed that the gun had fallen from the man's grip. He made fast moves of grabbing it and with shaking hands pointed to the general direction of the now struggling to get up soldier.

As he caressed the trigger with his finger a flashback of him shooting Kroft engulfed his mind. He felt like he was suffocating and realized he couldn't possibly shoot. As the man got up from under the piece of furniture, he drew a small handgun from his waist and immediately turned it to Liam.

The young man remained still his face a mask of pain and shock and he drew in a sharp breath when the gunshot was heard. He took in a couple of seconds to realize that it wasn't him that was shot, but the man in front of him. Turning back jerkingly he spotted Harris, standing behind him, still pointing his gun at the now unconscious body.

Harris looked at Liam but any sign of his usual kindness and sympathy that the kid was used to seeing in his features were gone. A serious and stern expression had replaced them. "Come on. Our ride's waiting."

Liam all but fell over his own two feet, as he immediately followed the order, by following the man.

* * *

Grace was anxiously watching the camera feed of the castle's yard as Darius was pacing through the room, with hands tugging at his thick black hair. They had no communication for over five minutes and for all they knew, every single one of their team could be dead. Darius rubbed his hands over his face and struggled hard to keep his composure over that very thought. His thoughts traveled to Liam, to the moment when he ignored Harris and ran headfirst into the hostile fire. If anything had happened to that kid, it would be his fault for allowing him to go. He'd never forgive himself.

Grace's calling his name pulled the man from his thoughts. "Darius!"

He walked briskly close to her and brought his hands to his mouth when he saw the small bullets of their team, all 9 of them, running towards their jet.

Liam was alright. Liam was alive. They were all safe. These thoughts flooded his mind as he turned and hugged Grace tightly.

"I am gonna kill him! I am gonna bloody murder him, Grace!" He whispered unable to keep the trembling out of his voice.

The woman found herself nodding hard against his shoulder, "You'd better! If Harris hasn't already done that of course." She might have only known Liam for a couple of weeks now, but she had grown to like the kid and admire his intelligence and his charming character. She could more than understand Darius' anger over how stupidly he endangered his life today.

Breaking their embrace, Darius regarded her a bit surprised. "You were supposed to try to talk me out of it."

Grace narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side in her usual manner, "Was I? May ask why?"

"Well... " Darius started before pausing. "He is an adult for starters?"

Grace scoffed at that. "My daughter is an adult too but still needs to be taken down a peg or two every once in a while," Then she regarded the man again. "Darius I've seen how you act around him and how he acts around you. It is more than evident that you both see more to your relationship than what meets the eye. Why are you trying to second-guess your instincts right now?"

Darius remained silent for a few seconds. "I feel a bit responsible for all of this."

"For tonight?" Grace asked surprised. "How on earth are you responsible?"

"I am the reason he's in this situation. He is so young and he carries with the rest of us the weight of the world on his shoulders. Plus, the whole thing with his girlfriend…"

"Jillian? What with her?"

"Well, Liam was not allowed to let her in on what's been going on. She found out though and left him. And he blames me. And he is right to blame me because he had asked me to allow him to tell her the secret. But I was a selfish prick as he so eloquently informed me, and did not want to risk exposure." Darius said feeling more and more awful with every word that left his mouth.

Grace rose to her feet walked to him and grabbed his hands. "What I gather from all of these is that Liam is tired and agitated and acted out in a very dangerous situation. And from what you're just telling me he also screwed up big time by telling Jillian. I get that his position was hard, but hell, I can't tell my own daughter, Harris can't tell his son! No, Darius. The only one acting selfishly in this situation from that perspective is Liam, who tried to save his relationship by risking something huge getting out there. As for the fact that he has to carry this huge responsibility, that I get. I also wish that at his age he didn't have to worry over things like that. But then again, he wants to be here, to help with his skills. Nobody's keeping him here hostage and nobody forced him in."

"It all sounds so logical through your words, but when I have him looking at me and telling me how everything he is suffering for is on me, I just can't help it, I feel responsible," Darius answered looking at the woman with a pensive face.

"That's your parental instinct. Even when you know it's your child who has done something wrong, even if you are angry as hell with them, you still tend to find a way to blame it all on you. I've done it a million times and I can get where you come from with these feelings. I also know how important it is to not let things as important as these slide. What will Liam learn if you strip him of the responsibilities of his choices? If he is not held accountable for his own decisions and actions?"

Nodding solemnly, Darius knew she was right. He also knew that he had half a mind to spank the living daylights out of the kid right in the jet the moment it would land, but he also knew such an action would only serve to ease his own feelings of exasperation and embarrassment over Liam's behavior and not really teach him much.

He didn't for a second question his decision to spank Liam. Simply grounding the young man would not cut it, not for endangering his life, especially after being warned multiple times against it. No, this warranted serious discipline and a memorable lesson. The only question was how the hell was he going to manage to deliver it.

* * *

As the small aircraft rolled inside the oversized jet garage, Darius and Grace stood aside waiting impatiently. Darius felt his heart pounding like crazy and he almost laughed at himself for being more anxious than even Liam should be at that very moment.

When the door slowly lowered and the men started filling out all his thoughts scattered away. The moment he saw the chestnut head with the big brown eyes walking out of the craft behind a very displeased Harris all he managed to do was jog to the kid and crush him in a hug.

Liam couldn't bring himself to play the angry card. He felt like shit. He felt worse than shit. Feeling Darius hugging him made him feel even worse, for all the things he had said to the man during the last 24 hours, for all the attitude and the insults… He couldn't believe that after everything the man still wanted to be around him, still worried about him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled in a trembling voice.

Darius brought his hands from around the kid's slim frame to rest on his shoulders putting some space between them, "Are you hurt?" he asked, his tone thick with worry.

Liam gulped uneasily but shook his head, lowering his eyes.

Grace walked towards her father hugging him tightly before doing the same with Harris, "I am so glad you're all safe!"

Harris glanced towards Darius who fussed over Liam before returning his gaze to Grace and forcing a smile to his lips, "Good to see you, Grace."

Grace's father glancing towards the young man and Darius as well, patted Harris' shoulder, "It was good working with you, Harris. Try to not throttle the kid now," small smirk in place he turned to his daughter and ran a hand through her silky hair, "I'll get going now, Gracie. Call me if you guys need anything at all."

Smiling and landing a soft kiss on his cheek the woman nodded, "Thank you, dad. Go and rest please."

As the man walked away, Darius walked towards the pair with Liam following close behind.

As soon as Liam was close enough, Harris clamped a hand on his shoulder startling the young man into looking up to the his eyes.

"I have a real hard time to control myself and not tell you things I might regret. So It will suffice to say that you royally screwed up tonight. We almost lost you for absolutely no reason. If you were my responsibility, your ass and my belt would get thoroughly acquainted with, not to mention the amount of physical training I'd impose on you to teach you some much-needed discipline."

The man's words were spoken in an even but deadly serious tone. It made Liam's face flush a bright red and he just wished for the earth would open up and devour him that very second. He lowered his eyes and managed to get out a strained, "I am really sorry." Then, he fell silent.

Darius regarded the young man with a determined expression. Turning to Harris he said, "I assure you that Liam will be held accountable, Harris. My sincere apologies for the trouble he caused."

Nodding satisfied and a bit surprised that Darius planned on actually stepping in and somehow dish out consequences Harris added, "Well, at least the mission was accomplished and the crystal extracted. He did a fine job at extracting the damn thing even under stress and pressure."

Managing to steal a glance at Harris, Liam offered a hint of a smile at the positive words.

Darius turned to Liam and told him in an even voice, "To your room with you. Shower and get to bed. You need to rest."

Liam deemed it wise to not argue with the man. " 'Night Grace… Sorry again, Harris." With these words, he slowly walked away towards the closest entrance to the main building.

* * *

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

When Darius entered the young man's room he realized Liam had yet to tidy up the mess he had made the previous day. He spotted Liam laying in his bed, under the covers, with his back turned to the door. Darius could immediately tell that he was not sleeping. Walking around the bed to the side were Liam was facing he sat himself down and rested a gentle hand on the kid's shoulder.

Liam's eyes remained closed but he did not attempt to pretend he was sleeping.

"Look, Liam, I know you've been angry and tired and struggling with a lot more than you should at your age. But none of these excuses your risking your safety and the team's safety by ignoring orders. Not when you were warned about it multiple times. And it doesn't excuse you throwing tantrums and breaking your room, or being disrespectful to those who care about you. Am I wrong?"

Liam's eyes, fluttered open. Wet with tears by now they stayed glued to the floor, but Liam slowly shook his head.

Sighing Darius placed a gentle finger under the kid's chin and pushed it lightly until Liam had no choice but to look at him, "I am so very grateful to have you here, safe and sound, Liam. Don't doubt that for a second. I have come to deeply care for you. And that's why I can't let these events slide. I want you to eat the food that will be brought to you in a few minutes and then get some much-needed sleep. We'll talk about everything tomorrow morning and we'll hopefully be able to leave everything behind us."

Liam nodded lightly and swallowed hard before quietly saying, "I am really sorry, Dar. I'll do whatever you want me to do. Anything to make this right."

The man smiled and ran a hand through the freshly washed wet brown locks of Liam's hair. "I know you will."

"And I am sorry for saying all these things to you before… I didn't mean them. I just exploded on you…." Liam trailed off as his voice broke and hard dobs started shaking his frame.

"Oh, Liam… Hush now! I know you didn't mean them! Come on, calm down now," Darius ran a soothing hand over the heaving back and tried hard to keep his own feelings and reactions at bay. "I promise you, Liam, we'll sort everything out. It's ok, lad."

* * *

Liam woke up the next morning with a throbbing head and smarting eyes. Memories of the previous day started flooding in as he became more and more alert. He slowly got up in a sitting position and he glanced at his bedside table. He spotted a small disc with a plate filled with toast bacon and eggs as well as a mug of coffee.

Grabbing the mug first he took in a long sip, grateful that the coffee was still a bit warm. He eyed the food thoughtfully. He decided to eat the toast and then walked to his dresser and opened the first drawer getting out a small vial filled with painkillers. Popping two into his mouth he washed them down with a large gulp of coffee.

He bit his lip trying to decide what he should do next. Should he go seek Darius or wait for him in his room. The thought of sneaking out and attempting to spot Jillian crossed his mind as well but he quickly decided that would not be a smart move to make.

He felt his stomach churn with nervousness and hated this feeling of vulnerability and uncertainty over what would follow. It made him feel young and he hadn't felt that way since even before being accepted to the university as a gifted student at fifteen.

He then proceeded to go to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. Changing his night clothes with a pair of black sweatpants and a dark green t-shirt, he stared at his reflection in the mirror for a second and before he could change his mind he mumbled to himself, "Grow a pair, Liam." Taking a deep breath he walked to his door and opened it reluctantly before stepping out to the corridor.

He walked slowly towards the tree-house and remained still outside the sliding doors for a minute or so. Feeling stupid over how nervous he was he drew in a shaky breath and pressed the button causing the doors to slide open and allow him entrance to Darius' cozy living space.

The man was sitting on the sofa with a laptop on his lap and appeared lost in his thoughts. When he turned his face to see who had entered, Liam noticed his eyes seemed tired and red with dark circles underneath. It was that very moment that the reality of how much a toll last day's fiasco had taken on the man.

"Liam!' Darius beckoned a bit surprised. He had expected he'd have to seek the kid out on his own at some point but not that he'd come to him on his own accord.

"Hey…" The kid said quietly and stood in the middle of the room awkwardly.

Darius smiled at him and closed the laptop placing it on the coffee table as he patted the spot next to him, indicating Liam should join him. When Liam sat and awkwardly laced his hands together looking everywhere but at Darius, the man asked: "Did you eat any breakfast?"

"Yeah, thanks for sending me some up here," Liam answered his voice quieter than usual and lacking his usual enthusiasm and confidence.

Darius regarded him carefully before saying, "Liam we both know you're in trouble, but there is no need to be so riled up. I'm not here to bite your head off."

Liam's stance relaxed a bit but he still looked uncomfortable.

"Did you sleep well?" Darius asked again hoping that warming up to some conversation would help things move along.

"Yeah, great," Liam answered immediately.

"Liam…"

Sighing Liam's shoulders slouched a bit and he drew one of his sock-covered feet close to his chest while his other one tapped nervously on the carpet, "I had a lot of nightmares, woke up all the time."

Darius nodded. His expression was calm as he commented, "That is completely understandable and expected considering what you've experienced these last couple of days. I was thinking that you'd might want to consider seeing a therapist to help you cope with everything."

Liam grimaced at the thought and dared to shake his head, "No, Darius, I… I don't want or need a shrink. I can deal with it on my own."

Darius leaned forward towards the young man resting his hands on his knees as he answered, "I don't doubt you can, but that doesn't mean you have to."

When the young man shook his head again, Darius decided to let it go for now. "How are you feeling about yesterday?" The man asked, hoping he was not too confronting and Liam wouldn't shut him out.

"Shitty…" Liam answered. As soon as he uttered the word he stole a glance at Darius' displeased countenance and hastily added, "Sorry!"

Darius smiled lightly and nodded appreciating how the kid immediately apologized.

When he did not otherwise reprimand him Liam cleared his throat. "I know you're probably mad at me and you have every right. I was stupid and risked Harris' and everyone else's safety and I have really regretted that."

Darius face serious and solemn by now nodded again. "Why, though, Liam? I was listening to everything. You defied orders not once but twice. And honestly, I can understand the first one. It was a good judgment call making sure to take as much crystal as possible. And even though I got angry at that moment I was willing to let it go considering you had those few seconds to spare after all. But then running off on your own, when Harriss ordered you to wait for them. That I can't understand."

Liam racked his brain to find the words that could explain himself to Darius. "I… I just let my anger and frustration take over. I felt like I could prove myself capable. Prove that I can protect myself and accomplish a mission…"

Darius looked at him intently, "I sense that is not all...:" He simply commented.

Liam's cheeks flushed a bright shade of pink as he lowered his eyes and cracked his fingers, feeling obviously uncomfortable.

"Liam…"

There was that warning tone again. "I also wanted to make you worry. To get back at you."

Darius nodded. He had thought so as well.

When he didn't say anything Liam anxiously continued, "But I am really sorry. I was an ass to you and I get that now. I am still mad I couldn't get to share everything with Jillian but I know it was not just your call to make. And I feel so awful now for acting the way I did towards you…"

"Thank you for saying that, Liam, but the issue here is not so much the disrespect or what you put me through, but what you put you through. The fact that you risked your life!" The last phrase was spoken with such intensity that Liam flinched and lowered his eyes again.

"You are still young and acting emotionally is still your first go-to response. I get that. But you need to learn to control your emotions, you need to think before you act. You can't ever risk your safety over anger or sadness or spite. Taking care of yourself and keeping out of unnecessary danger is top priority! This is completely unacceptable. Am I clear, Liam?"

"Yes," Liam all but whispered.

"And wasn't I very clear on that even before you boarded that plane?" When Liam did not answer he snapped, "Liam answer me!"

Jumping slightly at the man's tone Liam immediately answered: "Sorry, yes you were."

"And lastly wasn't I very clear over the fact that there would be consequences, if you disregarded me on this and disobeyed Harris' orders?" Darius asked in a stern tone.

"You were clear," Liam answered quietly again hating the fact that right now he felt all of five years old.

Darius nodded satisfied. "Liam, today's consequences are not negotiable, if you want to continue working with me. I can't have you thinking you can act as carelessly as yesterday ever again and I won't reinforce such behavior by letting this slide without consequences. You'll be punished for your actions and then we'll put this behind us. You'll learn from your mistakes and we'll continue with a clean slate."

Liam flushing for the millionth time only nodded a bit numb. A voice inside of him tried to persuade him to tell Darius to fuck off, that he was an adult and he wouldn't be treated like a child. Then again, he had acted like a child. And there was something about Darius, an aura of authority, a feeling of easiness and comfort when he was around the man, a sense of deep respect for him. Bringing back to his mind Harris words he knew where this was going even before Darius opened his mouth again.

"The first part of your punishment will be a spanking," Darius said decisively and waited for Liam's reaction. Other than his eyes shutting and the kid biting his lips nothing came out of him.

"You are also grounded for a week. During that time I also expect to lick your room clean. You will have access to your phone only during working hours but you'll hand it over to me, along with your laptop, when you return to your room for the remainder of your grounding."

"But what if I need to research some new idea or whatever?" Liam argued for the first time feeling more and more lousy with every new word that left Darius' mouth.

"You'll come to find me and we'll research it together, no matter what time it is."

Liam huffed annoyed but did not dare to argue any further, reminding himself why he was in this position. Willing himself to prove himself an adult and face the consequences of his own stupidity.

Darius looked at the kid intently. Liam looked so young. He remembered his own self at his age and how distant and indifferent his uncle always had been, not to mention his own father. He cringed thinking the stupid things he'd done, the numerous times he stupidly risked his own life in attempts to see who and if would care. No. He wouldn't let Liam go down that path. Nodding once mostly to himself the man said, "Right then, let's move back to why you're here."

Liam's thoughts abruptly returned to his impending punishment and he felt his stomach fall to his feet.

Darius looked at the young man and spoke in an even but stern tone, "Since this is the very first time this is happening, and I guess it's something you haven't experienced in a long time, I am going to be lenient. If there ever is a next time where you unnecessarily endanger your safety, health or life, you will be spanked with a belt on your bare bottom." Letting that sink in and noting the furious blush on Liam's face, Darius continued after another second. "This time though you'll be punished just with my hand and a wooden ruler."

Just. Hand. Ruler. Liam felt the room swirl together. The surrealism of this moment was so intense he sat at his mentor's couch at a complete loss of how to react. This was not what he had expected when he found himself working for his idol. Then again, his idol turned out to be so much more than what he had expected.

Darius sensing how hard things should be for the kid proceeded to move to the desk in the other side of the room, grab the ruler from where it rested on top of some blueprints, and return to the couch. He placed the piece of wood on the sofa behind him and sat next to Liam. Before anything else, he asked the young man, "Do you trust me, Liam?"

Liam turned his warm brown eyes to the man and nodded without hesitation. "With my life. With the whole world's lives, to be accurate!"

Smiling at his attempt to lighten the atmosphere Darius nodded and drew in a deep, much-needed breath. He gently took hold of Liam's left hand and tugged him over his knees.

Liam allowed himself to be led where Darius wanted him. H felt the room swirling once again. His face flamed up yet again with embarrassment as he felt Darius arranging him over his knees. His torso rested on the sofa, at the man's left side while his legs dangled over Darius' right side. He felt the older man moving a bit more and then his legs were suddenly locked between Darius' knees, his bottom now propped up over the man's left thigh. Next thing he knew, his sweatpants and briefs were lowered, by Darius, in one swift motion.

"Darius, no!" Liam exclaimed and tried to get up but the man had him effectively pinned with his legs and his left arm circled around his waist.

"Sorry, Liam, but when it gets to this, you have no say over what is happening or how," Darius patiently informed him matter-of-factly.

When Liam did not respond he continued by asking "Why are you about to receive this spanking, Liam?"

The young man fought hard to remain calm and not give anymore attitude but as the reality of what was happening struck him, he started losing the fight fastly.

Darius noticed the tense stance of the kid's body and his balled fists. Honestly, he had expected resistance to begin a lot earlier and was thankful that the kid had managed to control himself up to this point. "Liam!" the man snapped, "When I am asking you something I expect prompt verbal answers!"

Gritting his teeth Liam managed to answer "Because you think I am a child and that this is somehow appropriate?"

Darius shook his head and raised his hand for the first time. He hadn't done this in a long time and the feelings and memories the situation brought to the surface made him sincerely hope he was doing right my by Liam. As his hand fell to the upturned bottom the loud sound of flesh meeting flesh erupted through the room.

Liam inhaled sharply more out of sock than pain at that first smack.

A second later though, Darius' hand descended two more times at the very same spot causing Liam to hiss at the building sting. He had never thought of Darius as physically strong, but now he could tell he was sorely mistaken.

"Let's try that again, shall we?" Darius asked in a sharp tone. " Why are you in this position, Liam?"

The young man gulped with difficulty. Inside his head, a battle was raging. One part of him wanted nothing more than to cooperate with Darius and prove himself as a mature and responsible adult who learned from his mistakes. But another part of him wanted to do anything in his power to not give Darius the satisfaction of winning this battle and validate this childish punishment.

When he remained silent for a few more seconds Darius raised his hand again and landed five powerful smacks to Liam's upper thighs causing the young man over his lap to yell out in pain.

Realising it would be in his best interest not to further aggravate the older man, Liam hastily answered, "Ok! Ok! Because I risked my life during the operation!"

Darius nodded satisfied and raised his hand again. After landing ten hard smacks that covered the whole of Liam's bottom the man paused again to speak, "You endangered your life which is completely unacceptable. You also endangered the safety of the rest of the team as well as the success of the operation. If you had fallen in the hands of the enemy due to your blatant disregard of orders none of our efforts, none of your efforts would have mattered. Do you think this was a safe bet to take Liam?"

Liam felt hot tears rising to his eyes upon the man's words. He was right and Liam knew it perfectly well. Not able to bring himself to be smart with the man anymore he simply whispered, "No…" and hid his face in his folded arms, bracing himself to take whatever Darius decided to doll out.

Darius nodded satisfied with the change in the kid's attitude and stance. "I hate it had to come to this Liam, but I need to know you'll learn from this. I need to know I can trust you to take care of yourself. I need to know I won't lose you due to your own careless acts." With these words, he raised his hand once again and he began punishing the barely flushed bottom in front of him. Smack after smack he covered the whole of the kid's cheeks and every now and then he traveled a bit southern and paid some attention to the sensitive upper thighs as well.

Liam began to cry in earnest sooner than he'd like. Darius wasn't holding back. Every swat intensified the steadily building fire on his backside. It hurt and burned and smarted all at the same time and Liam couldn't really comprehend how it could get worse and worse with every powerful smack. His guilt shot through him intensifying his crying and he soon felt his body reacting to the smarting pain on its own accord. His legs twitched and kicked as much as they could, pinned between Darius'. His waist desperately tried to move away from the line of fire but had no such luck.

After a series of hard smacks all on the lower part of his bottom, the young man exclaimed a desperate "I'm sorry! Please!"

Darius felt his own heart churning at Liam's crying. His palm tingled and smarted a lot and that alone was a very strong indicator of how much more Liam's bottom suffered. Deciding that it was time to wrap things up he paused momentarily. He ran a soothing hand over Liam's heaving back. "We're almost done, alright? I am gonna finish up with the ruler now and then it will be over. You'll be forgiven and we'll put this behind us."

Liam kept crying in his hands feeling exhausted. His bottom hurt so much he couldn't really imagine how much worse the ruler could make it.

Darius closed his eyes for a second trying to gather his resolve. He reminded himself the moment he heard Harris yell to Liam to wait, once twice and the sound of the gunshots. He reminded himself how he felt when he thought he had lost the kid. How Liam had looked at him in the eye and promised to follow every order before getting on that plane.

With this in mind, he lifted the flat piece of sturdy wood and snapped it sharply on the top of the reddened cheeks.

The pained yell of Liam did nothing to stop him as he lifted the implement and brought it down again directly below where the first swat had landed. He kept going, covering the whole backside with sharp swats. He watched as the color of Liam's bottom turned a well-spanked red and decided he'd finish with ten last swats. He landed five of them on the kid's sit spots and the last five on his upper thighs.

As soon as the last swat landed, Darius let the ruler fall to the carpeted floor and his hand immediately started rubbing Liam's back once again. "It's over Liam. It's over, lad," he said in a soothing tone.

Liam heard his words and even though his sitting area was throbbing intensely he realized that indeed he didn't hear the sound of the swats anymore. He knew he should probably get up but he couldn't bring himself to do so. A new wave of fresh tears and sobs erupted in him and he started blubbering apologies to Darius once again.

Darius felt like the worst person on the planet at that very moment. He knew he had been hard on Liam but not as hard as he could have been considering the reason for this punishment. He realized though that all the pressure and negative feelings of the last days had finally found a way out of Liam and he kept offering soothing words to the young man. When he felt Liam's sobs slowing down he gently and carefully brought his clothes back to their place. Then he used gentle hands to help the kid up to a sitting position.

Liam hissed when his weight shifted to his punished bottom but allowed Darius to move him nonetheless.

Darius looked at the kid's tear-streaked face, his wet eyes, and his miserable expression and did not hesitate for a second before scooting closer and hugging him tightly. He felt Liam immediately dissolving in the embrace and hiding his face in the man's shoulder.

Darius cupped a hand behind Liam's neck and gently rocked him from side to side until he felt Liam's breathing returning to its normal rhythm and only the occasional sob escaping his lips. Only then did he break the embrace and looked at the kid with kind eyes.

"Are you alright?" he dared to ask.

At the silent nod and downcast eyes, Darius sighed, "I am very proud of you, Liam."

These words were enough to get the wet brown eyes to look at the man disbelievingly.

"I am. It takes a very strong man to accept the consequences of his actions and see the errors of his way. And I am honored you trusted me with your correction."

"I am really sorry, Dar."

Darius smiled affectionately at the kid and nodded, "I know and you are forgiven. No need to further apologize, alright?"

Liam only nodded. He felt exhausted.

Darius shot to his feet and went to the small fridge kept in the tree house. He grabbed a bottle of water and quickly came back to Liam offering it to him.

Liam thankfully accepted it only now realizing just how thirsty he felt. When he gulped down almost all of its content, Darius took the bottle back and placed it on the coffee table. Then, without hesitation, he propped up a couple of throw pillows at the end of the sofa and motioned for Liam to lie down.

"I… I need to get to work…" Liam said awkwardly even though he wanted nothing more than to lay down.

Darius simply shook his head, "Not before getting some much-needed rest. Lay down. Now."

Liam nodded and carefully laid himself down on his stomach resting his head on the soft pillows and stretching his legs behind him. He felt a light fleece blanket cover him and his eyes fluttered closed as he almost immediately drifted off to a deep dreamless slumber.

* * *

Darius placed the two mugs of steaming coffee quietly on the coffee table as he sat at the edge of the sofa where Liam was laying still sleeping. The light snoring that was heard made Darius smile. With a gentle hand on the kid's shoulder, he lightly shook him. "Liam?"

The young man started stirring and after a few seconds opened his eyes. He looked around him and then glanced at Darius. He groaned lightly at the realization of why he was sleeping in the man's couch hit him. "I need to get to work," he mumbled as he rubbed his palm down his face.

"We both do, but not just yet. I need to talk to you about something." Darius said his voice uneasy.

Liam slowly turned to his back and gingerly sat up trying to ignore his still aching ass. "What's going on?" he asked a bit worriedly.

Darius cleared his throat as he leaned forward to grab one of the two cups and offer it to Liam. The young man took it and ignoring the hot temperature sipped in a large gulp of the strong beverage.

"I need to apologize about Jillian. At first, when I brought her here, it was just another way to ensure your cooperation and motivation. It was nothing more than a selfish act back then, you were right."

Liam regarded the man silently, trying to take it all in.

"But then I got to know you better. Both you and her. And I saw in her something more. So much more. I am sure all the things you also saw and fell in love with her. I also realized just how selfless and genuine your own devotion to our cause is and it made me feel awful. I might've brought her here to secure you, but she means a lot to what we're trying to achieve Liam."

Silence again from the young man.

"I need you to understand… I was thinking of you through the prism of how I was at your age. Selfish and greedy. I couldn't even fathom how could a young man at your age put the planet's fate above his own. But I know now what a wonderful and selfless person you are. And I know how much Jillian means to you. I apologize Liam and I really hope I can find a way to make this up to you. I put you in a spot with her, but I really only wish the best for you, I need you to believe me on this…" the man trailed off unsure of how to continue or even if you should.

Liam regarded him with an unreadable expression but then nodded. "Thank you for apologizing. And for telling me all this. I forgive you."

Darius nodded solemnly before opening his mouth one last time, "I promise to never lie to you again Liam."

Liam nodded, "I'd greatly appreciate that. And one more thing."

"Name it." Darius immediately said looking at the kid through his dark eyes.

"Tell all this you just told me to Jillian. She might believe me then." Liam said seriously.

"It's the least I can do," the man answered smiling.

"Right. We'd better start working on that crystal then," Liam said a bit awkwardly.

Darius stood and nodded, "You know, Harris was right yesterday. With the exception of your mistake in disobeying him, you did great yesterday. We owe this second chance to you."

Liam smiled widely at that as the two of them walked towards the elevator.

* * *

A/N: The end! So, any thoughts? Did you like it? Did you not? Am I the only one who fantasized over this episode or are there more people out there? Would you like to see more one-shots between Darius and Liam? Or other people of the series? I'd love to hear your requests or proposals and maybe write them out in future one-shots! I really hope at least some of you enjoyed this as much as I did!

To my readers of the other story (Of suits and heroes), I promise I am working on it diligently! I got some ideas on how to proceed with the plotline and I've been working on my characters a bit as it felt like they needed some more depth and color. Anyways that update will come as well, as soon as I am pleased with the outcome!


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